Pay the Man
by Insanity Team
Summary: Based on the song by The Offspring. More high quality work from Nazza, read and review.


PAY THE MAN  
[CHAPTER 1]  
  
=========================================  
See the way the wind blows  
  
Lives are intertwined  
  
Watch the way the world goes  
  
The man deals out our plight  
  
=========================================  
  
Sonic looked out from the cliff that overlooked the city. Buildings were on fire, people were dying on the streets, Freedom Fighters were wandering around covered in soot, the firemen desperately searching for a fire hydrant or a source of water to put out the seemingly invincible flames. 'What went wrong.'  
  
'It's not your fault,' said Knuckles. 'Not your fault.'  
  
'Where's Tails? Is he safe from another attack?'  
  
'Yeah, he's working on one of his machines.'  
  
Sonic felt sick. He leant over, trying to settle his stomach.  
  
'How could this have happened,' he said to himself. 'How could I have let this happen!'  
  
~~~ 'Finally, I can take my vacation to Sandy Beach Resort,' said Sonic.  
  
'You sure you'll be okay, gone for four whole days?' said Tails.  
  
Sonic laughed, and ruffled his hair. 'I think I'll be able to manage. You'll be brave, won't you?'  
  
'Yeah,' said Tails, smiling.  
  
Sonic smiled back at him. *He's so cute.*  
  
'Well, see you in four days' time!' ~~~  
  
'You okay, Sonic?' Knuckles asked.  
  
'Yeah,' said Sonic. 'Just feeling a bit queasy.' He ran over to a nearby bush and vomited.  
  
'You sure you're okay?'  
  
'Yep, I'm sure,' said Sonic. 'I just...don't feel well...' He hurled again.  
  
'I'll tell you everything inside.'  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
'I remember getting back home, and then it happened,' Sonic said.  
  
The three were sitting at the table, discussing what had happened that day. Sonic was facing away from the window, though Knuckles could see out into the night clearly. The fires were still raging.  
  
They all looked down at the table, remembering earlier that day.  
  
~~~ 'Hey Sonic!' said Tails.  
  
'Were you brave?' Sonic asked.  
  
'Yep!'  
  
'Hey dude,' said Knuckles. 'Did you have a good holiday?'  
  
'Yeah,' said Sonic. 'Everything been alright?'  
  
'Yeah,' Knuckles replied. 'We had a few hiccups back at the Freedom Fighter base, but it's been strangely quiet.'  
  
'Well, as long as nothing major happened,' said Sonic. ~~~  
  
Tails' straight face turned to a frown, remembering the destruction that had been caused.  
  
~~~ 'So, what did you do?' he asked as they walked along.  
  
'I did heaps!' said Sonic. 'Just wait until you hear some of the stuff that happened.'  
  
Tails looked up, and gazed out from the airport to the city. Something's going to happen, he thought. I can feel it.  
  
Suddenly there was a flash of light, which blinded them for a split second. Explosions were heard, and when their vision came back the majority of the city was burning, as if several bombs had gone off.  
  
'Was - was that a nuclear bomb?' Tails stuttered. ~~~  
  
Tears formed in Knuckles' eyes. 'What's wrong, Knuckles?' Tails asked.  
  
'Nothing, I just - today was very bad,' said Knuckles. 'We're lucky that we all live on top of this hill just outside the town.'  
  
~~~ 'Knuckles, there's a problem detected on our computers,' said the second-in-command of the Freedom Fighter's base, Princess Sally.  
  
'What's wrong?'  
  
'It's detecting the presence of explosives,' she replied.  
  
'How close?'  
  
'In the city. But it's a very weak signal. It could just be a hoax.'  
  
'Look into it,' said Knuckles. 'I'm going to pick up Tails, then we're going to meet Sonic at our personal airport.'  
  
'Okay,' said Sally. 'I'll try and find out if the signal's a hoax or not.'  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
'I did heaps! Just wait until you hear some of the stuff that happened.'  
  
Knuckles looked out at the city in awe. I wonder if they found the explosives, he thought.  
  
Suddenly there was a flash of light, and a loud explosion was heard, and when Knuckles could see again the whole city was a burning ruin. He could hardly even speak, he was struggling to breathe. He had to concentrate all his strength just to keep from collapsing.  
  
'Was - was that a nuclear bomb?'  
  
Knuckles couldn't hold himself up anymore, and fell to the ground, devestated at what he had saw.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
When he had recovered, he found Sonic outside, staring out into what once was the city.  
  
'Are you thinking that you could've helped out?' Knuckles asked.  
  
Sonic was silent, staring out at the raging fires, the desperation of the people below. 'What went wrong.'  
  
'It's not your fault. Not your fault.' Knuckles looked out at the horizon, and watched as the smoke clouds drifted off. Not your fault, Knuckles repeated to himself. But it *is* my fault. I left the base, without thinking of the possible danger. The Freedom Fighters' base was the only thing that didn't collapse fully. And Sally's still out there. ~~~  
  
The three sat in quietness. Down at the site there were TV crews, firefighters, people to clean up the debris, Freedom Fighters helping the less fortunate. The fires still raged, billowing smoke that covered the sky, making it appear orange.  
  
In his base overlooking the town, a lone dark figure watched over the destruction he had created.  
  
=NAZZA= 


End file.
